If you’re coming to the area to camp – leave your firewood at home.
That was the resounding advice from Ian Jean with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority – they’ve recently started becoming concerned about the risk of oak wilt in the region.
Oak wilt is a fungal disease comparable to dutch elm, and it’s been present in the American mid-west since as early as the forties. It was located on the Canadian mainland for the first time this spring.
The disease has the ability to devastate oak populations, with red oaks being particularly vulnerable. If an oak is affected, there are some telltale signs, says Jean,
If you suspect a tree might be infected with oak wilt, call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Jean says that the most common way that the disease is transmitted is through the transportation of infected firewood,
To protect the trees on the lands that they’re responsible for, the ABCA will be following the agency’s guidelines not to prune oak trees from April to November, and will be covering any pruned areas with tree pruning paint to prevent sap bugs from feeding on the trees (which can also spread the disease).
Written by: B. Shakyaver
